Respirator



Jgne 14, 1938.

H. s. covER 2,120,230

RESPIRATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 1o, 1953 June 1'4, 193.8.

H. S. COVER RESPIRATOR Filed Aug. 10, I1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Kaff@ Patented June 14, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT ori-ICEl 7 Claims.`

My invention relates to improvements in respirators, and has for an object the provision of a device having a flexible body throughout, and the provision of filter chambers laterally disposedA relative to the position of the nose of the wearer. It also has for an object the provision of enlarged lter chambers.

The present application is a continuation in part of my co-pending application Serial Nc. 662.929, now Patent No. 2,000,064, issued May 7, i935.

Heretoiore it has been customary in making devices of this character to include in the body of the 'same metal stiiiening material for the purpose of giving the desired shape to the article. Filter chambers have been attached'tc respirators before, but they have been attached by metal threaded rings or some equally expensive means.

The respirator bodies have been made of rubber,

- but even when made of rubber a metal ring has been attached to the rubber body for thepurpose of attaching the'lter chambers. An object of my invention is to dispense with metal in the entire body of my device.y By doing this I am able to provideV a device which is easily foldable, may be shipped in a smaller container, and may be carried easily in a pocket of the user; Since the bodyis made of flexible rubber, it will not get out of shape and be rendered unsatisfactory for its intended purposes.

Heretofore most respirators have included .an'

exhaust valve Iwhich may be of the type commonly known as a flutter valve,v and the provision l of these valves has always been an item of large expense. By placing enlarged filter chambers on each side of my device I have found that the user may inhale more freely and mayexhale easily without the use of an exhaust valve of any kind whatsoever.

Other objects will appear hereinafter. My invention may be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which;

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my device attached to the face of a wearer; y

Fig. 2 is a top plan view; f

Fig. 3 is a side elevational View;

Fig. 4 is'a sectional view, taken substantially on the line 4 6 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view, taken substantially on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2; y v

Fig. 6 is a sectional view, taken substantially on the linee- 6 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 7 is a view, partly in section and partly in elevation, and taken substantially on the line 1-1 of Fig. 6.

Referring now to the drawingsLmy device comprises a main body I0 which is preferably molded in an entirevunitary body of flexible rubber, and

has generally a shape of a wedge, as shown in Eig. 2. The side walls of body -Ill include cutouts 5 Il at the rear top and bottom edges, and because of these the device is reversible, for each of the cutouts provides an opening for the entrancevof the nose. Disposed laterally from cutouts Il are bowed or bell shaped portions I2 which cause the v10 device to fit a great variety of features. When' the device is in the position shown in Fig. 1 the cutout II fits the nose, and bell shaped portions` I2 are adapted to cause a close fit between the cheeks and the nose.

close fltof the main body I0 on the chin of thewearer, and sincethe bell shaped portions x I2 have inwardly extending flanges I3, a close fit is obtained at all points without the use of an inflated rubber tube which is used in many types of respirators.

As can be clearly seen from Figs.'2 and 6,- side walls It of body I0 extend diagonally inwardly and finally converge in a thickened lip or bill portion I5. Extending laterally yfrom each side wall I4 is a circular ring'or flange I Ii. Each of these flanges carries on the side thereof laterally extending attaching bosses Il which may be of a generally elongated' shape, as shown clearly in Fig. 2. Bosses i-I may be placed in spacedrelation to each other .around the periphery of flange I 6 so as to provide attaching means for a metal cap I8, preferably made of aluminum. The side walls of At -this time the lower l5 `cutout II and bell shaped portions I2 cause a cap I0 are preferably provided with elongated ..35

. enlarged centrally disposed aperture 20 in its A metal screen 22 is preferably L40 end wall 2|. inserted in `cap I@ and abuts against end' wall 2i and covers aperture 20. Beneath screen 22, as shown in Fig.`6, may be placed filtering material 23.- The side walls I4 of body I0 are preferably provided with apertures 24 immediately beneath 45 Vfiltering material 23 and within the surface enclosed by flange I0, and thus air passages are provided through apertures 2d, filtering material 23, screen 22, and' aperture 20. In cases where several different kinds of filtering material are ing chambers have been disposed centrally of the A to the rear edge of body I0, and consequently do not extend into the line of vision.

Straps 21 and 28 arel preferably made of elastic material.

As has been stated above, the front portions of Y walls Il converge and form a thickened bill or lip I5. When it is desired to employ a flutter valve, this lip may be slit along the line of convergence, and would present the appearance shown generally in Fig. 5, but should not be extended rearwardly beyond the line S-S lin Fig. 5. To the rear of lip I5, and on the insides of walls Il reinforcing bosses 30 may be placed. Bosses 3l are seen clearly i'n Figs. 5 and 6, and extend laterally across the line of meeting of side walls Il; they serve to strengthen the device at this point, and also serve to keep the side walls sepa-- rated to some extent, even though the rear edges are pulled apart. This feature is quite useful when lip l5 is slit to provide a flutter valve, for if the side walls Il were close together a disagreeable noise would be made by the flutter valve when the user exhaled through the flutter valve.

It is thought that the use and operation of the device is clear from the foregoing description and drawings. and hence no further explanation will be given. It has been found that most kinds of ltering .material are more efficient when the velocity of the air passing through them is quite low, and

since my device provides a large total filtering surface area it can be seen that the efiiciency of the device' will be considerably enhanced because the velocity of air passing throgh them will be considerably reduced.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device of the character described comprising a wedge-shaped body portion formed of flexible material and having substantially flat plane-like side walls converging in a narrow end, a face entrance opening at the wide end of said body portion, nose entrance notches at the top and bottom of said wide end, air entrance openings in the side walls of said body portion, filtering material over said air entrance openings.

means for holding said ltering material inplace, said wedge-shaped body portion being foldable along a line passing longitudinallyv thereof intermediately between its side walls andV through the narrow end body portion.

2. A device of the character described comlof said ,wedge-shaped prising a substantially wedge-shaped body portion formed of flexible material and having substantially plane-like side walls converging in a narrow end, a face entrance opening at the wide end of said wedge-shaped body portion, air entrance openings in the side walls of said wedge` shaped body portion, ltering material arranged over said last .mentioned openings, means for holding said filtering tmaterial in place. said wedge-shaped body portion being foldable along a line `passing `intermediately between said side walls and through the narrow end of said wedgeshaped body portion.

3. A device of the character described comprising a substantially. wedge-shaped body portion formed of flexible material and having substantially plane-like side walls converging in a narrow end, a face entrance opening at the wide end of said wedge-shaped body portion, air entrance openings in the side walls of said wedgeshaped body portion, filtering material arranged .over said last mentioned openings, means for holding said filtering material in' place, 'said wedge-shaped body portion being foldable along a line passing intermediately between said side walls and through the narrow end of said wedgeshaped body portion, and a utter valve formed in the narrow end of said main body portion and of the same material assaid main body portion.

'4. A device of the character described comprising a main body portion, a face entrance opening and symmetrical side and top and bottom walls, nose receiving portions in said top and bottom walls, said device being adapted for use with its top wall at the top or in the position given with the device rotated through 180.

5. A device of the character described comprising a main body portion, a face entrance opening and symmetrical side and top and bottom walls, nosereceiving portions in said top and bottom walls, said device being adapted for use with its top wall at the top or in the position given with the device rotated through 180, and a flutter valve formed by forward ends of the side walls and equally operative and effective when the main body section is in either of the positions just described. i

ings in the at plane-like side faces of said body portion, filter material covering said openings, and means for holding said filter material in place, said wedge-shaped body portion being foldable along a line passing longitudinally of and substantially intermediately between said side walls and through the narrow end of said body portion.

7. A device of the character described comprising a hollow, wedge-shaped body portion having an enlarged opening at the wide end thereof, cut-outs at the top and bottom of said open end and adapted to serve as nose entrance notches, openings in the flat, plane-like side faces of said body portion, filter material covering said openings, and means for holding said filter material in place, said last mentioned means comprising laterally extending flanges of resilient and collapsible material bounding the surfaces in which said openings are located, protruding lugs ,extending outwardly from said ilanges, and cap members having enlarged air entrance openings therein and lug engaging slots in the side walls thereof for engagement bythe lugs on said flanges, said flanges being suilicient- 1y resilient to hold said lugs in said slots and also being suiliciently collapsible to withdraw said lugs from said slots when collapsed.

HARVEY S. COVER.

,DSCLAlMER 2,120,230.-Ha1'vey S. Cover, South Bend, Ind. RESPIRATOR. Patent dated June 14,

1938. Disclaimer led March 20,- 1943, by the inventoi. Hereby enters this disclaimer to claims 2 and 3, in said specification.

[Oficial Gazette vApril 13, 1943.1 

